Royce White, Who Suffers From Anxiety, is Called a "Head Case" by NBA Reporter [UPDATE]

Royce White, the former Iowa State star who was drafted in the 1st round by the Houston Rockets, didn’t show up for the first day of training camp. White, who suffers from anxiety – it was chronicled very well in this video – has tremendous talent, and could have an instant impact on the young Rockets. Houston GM Kevin McHale, who coveted Young in the draft, told the media he “had no idea” why White wasn’t in attendance. Everyone is assuming anxiety is an issue, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

This led to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahomam offering a bizarre “told you so”:

So not only did dude not show up to his first day on the job (media day), but he also skipped the first team flight and essentially said “Nah, I’m good” to the first day of practice. Add to that, not even his coach knows when to expect him.

That, right there, folks is the definition of a head case.

Oh, my. Does anyone really think a rookie said, “Nah, I’m good?”

Mayberry jumped into the comments of that blog post and defended the Thunder not drafting White, which makes sense. He played the “how many chances does someone get?” card about a 21-year old, which seems a bit irrational, given this is the first week of training camp. White plead guilty to theft and disorderly conduct in college after an incident at the Mall of America, and later was charged with trespassing in connection with a laptop theft at a dorm. So because of those two instances, plus the anxiety, plus missing the first day of training camp, suddenly it’s time to bail on White?